Sprinklers
by Rianne Pond
Summary: "Here?" Near asked, drawing his gun. Mello's grin grew wider as he too took out a gun. They pointed them straight at each other, but did not fire. Mello swiped his hair aside and widened his stance to accommodate the gun. Near twirled his hair and stood sideways, as to be a more difficult target. Near raised an eyebrow. "Wait for it." Near pumped his water gun in anticipation.


**Sprinklers**

"I don't know about this Mello," Near remarked, clinging to Mello's leather clad arm. Mello scoffed and looked down at the white haired and doe eyed boy. He felt a tugging on the edge of his lip as it seemed impossible to look at Near without smiling anymore.

"Don't be such a baby," he insisted, playfully nudging the pale-faced genius. "Take a risk now and then." Near smiled a playful grin as he stood up on his tip toes and kissed Mello's cheek. Tonight he was putting all of his trust in Mello.

"We won't get caught," Near whispered, knowing that if anyone could find their way out of Wammy's without detection it would be Mello. There was no end to his stories of espionage and grand escape. One time Mello had told him an edge-of-your-seat story about how he'd snuck out in the dead of night, completely alone just to replenish his chocolate supply. His passion for chocolate practically matched his passion for Near; he was willing to sneak out for both.

"I promise you Near, I won't let us get caught. Do you have your gun?" Mello asked, taking Near's hand and dragging him to the front lawn of the Wammy House Estate. Near nodded silently and helplessly followed along. He was never one for such adventures, but as the wind slapped his face and his cheeks became pink, he soon saw the appeal in it. His throat was hoarse in the winter air as he trailed after Mello. He didn't have much of a choice in following him as Mello was pulling his arm almost clean off as he dragged him to the center of the grass field. It didn't matter though; even given the chance to leave he wouldn't.

"Here?" Near asked, drawing his gun. Mello's grin grew wider as he too took out a gun. They pointed them straight at each other, but did not fire. Mello swiped his hair aside and widened his stance to accommodate the gun. Near twirled his hair with one hand and stood sideways, as to be a more difficult target. Near raised an eyebrow.

"Yes," Mello said quietly, his eyes searching the field. "Wait for it," he coaxed. The anticipation nearly killed Near as he too searched the perimeter for whatever surprise it was that Mello had planned. He pumped his water gun once in expectation. Mello saw him and grinned suavely. "Ready Near?"

"For what?" he asked, becoming increasingly confused as Mello glanced down at his watch and pumped his gun as well. With one last look into the distance Near followed Mello's gaze.

"This!" Mello yelled, soon after firing his weapon just as the sprinkler facets in the ground shot up geysers of water. Near squeaked and collapsed onto the ground, firing his water gun in a frenzy hoping one of the shots would hit Mello.

"Mello!" he called out. Mello assumed there was something wrong with Near as he sat in a heap on the grass. Putting aside the pretenses of a friendly war he set his water gun on the turf and approached the clever little boy with concern.

"What is it? Are you hurt?" Mello worried, doting over his favorite companion. Near grinned as Mello put a careful hand on his knee.

He pulled back his gun and fired it at Mello repeatedly while running away giggling at his own sly trick. Mello shook his head and cursed at the boy, turning back for his gun before chasing after Near. The water posed an excellent threat as he dodged the fountains of water spewing from the ground. Weaving in and out, it was difficult for either of the boys to succeed in hitting each other but not impossible. In the end their water guns ran out and they collapsed into a tumbling, giggling, wet heap beside each other. Near nuzzled into Mello's shoulder as he pushed back Near's wet hair and examined the white pajamas clinging to his body.

"Thank you," Near mumbled into Mello's wet chest. Mello looked down curiously. What had he done worthy of thanks? He wasn't complaining, but hearing such words emit from Near's mouth under any occasion was nothing short of a miracle. Mello moved his hand down from Near's head and onto his hip.

"For what?" he asked.

"For this," Near explained, his voice making it seem as though it should have been obvious. Mello closed his eyes in pleasure. "It was fun," Near whispered. A short chuckle left Mello's lips.

"It doesn't have to be over you know," Mello suggested, a tone in his voice meaning more than the words coming out. "The fun…" Near didn't seem to have an emotional response. He too laughed at the words that Mello spoke, but didn't reply. "What do you say?" Mello persuaded with a sort of charm in his voice that could not be reproduced. Near collected himself and got onto his knees.

"Last one back is a rotten egg!" he called as he took off tearing towards the orphanage. The sounds of his wet feet slapping the soggy grass and of his heavy breathing were the only noises in the silent blackness of night. Mello sighed and he too sprinted back to the school. Mello's legs were longer and his strides matched that of two of Near's. He soon overtook Near and gathered him into a hug. The shivering boy gladly clung to Mello's warmth as the snuck back into the house. Their feet made horrendous squeaking noises on the tile and their clothes managed to drip off a puddle's worth of water.

"Quiet," Mello encouraged, shushing Near and his squeaky little feet. Near let out a hissing laugh as he felt the exhilaration of risk taking. Mello took time to unlock his room, but once the door had opened they both disappeared into its confines until the next morning.

I can't say that I was happy about constantly being the responsible one, but someone had to look out for those two. They were hopeless. What did they think? Sneaking out at night like that, of course someone would see them. I was proud that they found each other that much was true, but they were more than lucky that my computer had crashed while updating my RPG and that I happened to look out on the peaceful grounds. If I hadn't seen their not-so-secretive return to the school then Roger would have discovered them without a hitch. If I wasn't supportive of whatever their relationship may be at this point than I wouldn't have cleaned up that mess they left on the tiles and all Roger would have had to do was follow the set of wet footprints to Mello's room. Yes, I complain, but I was really just glad that they'd finally accepted each other.

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**Just another oneshot about Near and Mello! I hope you enjoyed! Remember to REVIEW, FAVORITE and READ my other work! **

**Additionally, I've started to write requested oneshots for anyone with a pairing and a general idea. PM me if you're interested!**


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